Meetings with Remarkable Men (All and Everything)
by G. I. Gurdjieff
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Book Summary Information
Author: G. I. GurdjieffEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991-09-27
ISBN: 0140190376
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Meetings with Remarkable Men (All and Everything)
Book Review: The most empowering book I've ever read
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been practicing self-observation, meditation and these sorts of things for years and so my level of being is high enough to grasp some of the 'inner content' of this work. If you are considering reading this without any internal preparation then I doubt you will feel the way I felt when I finished reading it: conscious of my ability to achieve anything! No book has ever done that to me. Gurdjieff actually wrote this book with the intention of giving the reader the material necessary to build a new world. That material to me was strength and with strength anything can be achieved, built.
I looked over the 1 star reviews and noticed that the reviewers did not have the necessary level of being to not only understand this book but really feel it. Gurdjieff once advised his pupils to not take anything he says literally, and I noticed that the 'sense' of a phrase needs to be captured rather than the literal meaning of it. The quote about 'not listening to a woman's advice' is actually taken out of context, Gurdjieff referred to that quote as way to teach us that maps of unknown lands are good for nothing, that it is better to see what the map says and do the opposite. I laughed in parts of this book and I couldn't help but feel inspired by the powerful example that Gurdjieff was.
Here are some of the things that you will learn from this book but again, this book will not teach you about how to become a spiritual person or anything like that, it is not a how-to book, but it may give you the feeling or taste for work, for effort, a taste for real life...
- Conscious movement is always paid for, it is never wasted. Gurdjieff tells us about a man who was always deliberately moving his body, even in quiet moments. That man become one of the richest men in the world. It is believed that Nature paid him for all his 'work', even though the work itself had no real goal other than defeating laziness and accumulating invisible capital.
- People without their soul mates run the risk of becoming irresponsible and leading irresponsible existences.
- The gods help those who bring all of their manifestations into accordance with one clear goal.
- One super-man can achieve the work of more than a hundred ordinary men.
- Reading newspapers weakens the will.
I tried reading Gurdjieff's first book but found it too difficult. This one is much more accessible. Keep in mind that this book is an advanced read, preparation with other advanced books might be necessary, like Samael Aun Weor's Revolutionary Psychology. I would recommend putting into practice Belzebuub's Peace of the Spirit Within before reading this book, because the techniques in that book will raise your level of being in such a way that you will become aware of your own inner world as well as the inner world of others and even the inner content of this book, which is probably more useful than the actual words themselves.
To me, Meetings with Remarkable Men conveys the enormous value of work and our attitude to it. Perhaps Gurdjieff wanted people to develop a taste for work rather than be lazy. One of my favorite quotes which can sum up all of this is by Eliphas Levi, who said: "Pain is a work, work a struggle, struggle a progress, progress real life."
Summary of Meetings with Remarkable Men (All and Everything)
The Armenian-Greek spiritual teacher, G.I. Gurdjieff's autobiographical account of his youth and early travels has become something of a legend since it was first published in 1963. A compulsive read in the tradition of adventure narratives, but suffused with Gurdjieff's unique perspective on life, it is organized around portraits of remarkable men and women who aided Gurdjieff's search for hidden knowledge or accompanied him on his journeys in remote parts of the Near East and Central Asia. A classic work, suffused with a haunting sense of what it means to live fully - with conscience, with purpose and with heart.Right around the turn of the 20th century, G.I. Gurdjieff initiated a group of spiritual adventurers called the "Seekers of Truth." These intrepid intellectuals of every stripe crisscrossed Africa and Asia in search of the hidden mysteries of antiquity. In Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff narrates their exploits while drawing portraits of these extraordinary figures (including one woman and a dog). Half travel journal, half autobiography, Meetings with Remarkable Men begins with Gurdieff's childhood, when he finds his book learning at odds with paranormal events that were self-evident but inexplicable through modern science. Later he discovers a map of "pre-sands Egypt" and evidence of the Sarmound Brotherhood, alleged keepers of ancient wisdom dating back four and a half millennia. He climbs the Himalayas, follows the Nile, and is led blindfolded to a mysterious monastery. In his encounters with dervishes, monks, and fakirs, Gurdjieff recovers the wisdom he seeks; by comparison, European understanding, he says, is backwards and barbaric. A controversial figure in his time, Gurdjieff inspired deep love and loyalty in his pupils and ridicule from skeptics. At the bookends of Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff suggests the value of blurring the line between allegory and straight reporting. But then what exactly is Meetings with Remarkable Men? You be the judge. --Brian Bruya
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